NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Constitution of Germany

The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz f�r die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of modern Germany. It first came into effect in 1949 as the constitution of West Germany.

The German word Grundgesetz may be translated as either 'Basic Law' or 'Fundamental Law'. The usual word for 'constitution' in German is Verfassung but Grundgesetz was chosen for the title of the document adopted in 1949 in order to suggest that both the new constitution, and the West German state it created, were merely provisional and would serve only until the achievement of reunification. The belief at the time was that this would not take long; however, the emergence of the Cold War caused the division of Germany to last more than forty years.

In 1990 reunification came about in the form of East Germany joining the Federal Republic. Since this time the Basic Law has continued in force as the constitution of all of Germany. The Basic Law has not been renamed but some amendments with respect to reunification were made in 1990 and 1994.

The Basic Law was adopted in the aftermath of World War II while West Germany was still under allied occupation. Before the allied occupation the West German states, or L�nder, were given constitutions. The new constitution for West Germany was originally to be drafted by a constituent assembly and submitted to a plebiscite for ratification. However, for the same reasons that the document was ultimately called a 'basic law' and not a 'constitution', the leaders of the L�nder insisted that the drafting body be called the 'Parliamentary Council' and that plans for a referendum be abandoned.

When it met the Parliamentary Council consisted of delegates chosen by the governments of each Land. After being passed by the council and approved by the occupying powers the Basic Law was submitted to the governments of the L�nder for ratification, it having been provided that the document would not come into effect until it had been ratified by at least two-thirds of the states. After meeting these requirements the enactment of the Basic Law was proclaimed on May 23, 1949.

External links

Full text:
- Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (http://www.oefre.unibe.ch/law/lit/the_basic_law.pdf). In English, as a PDF file.
- Grundgesetz f�r die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (http://www.bundestag.de/parlament/gesetze/). In German, as a PDF file.
- Grundgesetz f�r die Bundesrepublik Deutschland (http://www.datenschutz-berlin.de/recht/de/gg/). In German, as HTML file.
Constitution of the German Empire (1871-1919) (http://wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_German_Empire). Full text from Wikisource (http://www.wikisource.org).

Categories: Constitutions | German law

Results from FactBites:

Germany - The Constitution (473 words)
	The framers of the Federal Republic of Germany's 1949 constitution sought to create safeguards against the emergence of either an overly fragmented, multiparty democracy, similar to the Weimar Republic (1918-33), or authoritarian institutions characteristic of the Nazi dictatorship of the Third Reich (1933-45).
	Article 20 states that "the Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state." The word "social" has been commonly interpreted to mean that the state has the responsibility to provide for the basic social welfare of its citizens.
	Of the many amendments to the Basic Law, among the most notable are the "defense addenda" of 1954-56, which regulate the constitutional position of the armed forces, and the "Emergency Constitution" of 1968, which delineates wider executive powers in the case of an internal or external emergency.

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	Constitutional Court Preamble of the Grundgesetz The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz fÃ¼r die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of modern Germany.
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